Kindness

​Recently it was World Educator’s Day – it used to be called World Teacher’s Day, but has slowly evolved into Educator’s Day over the years.So what does a teacher do?

Sit at their desk all day and yell at children? No, I even know some teachers who don’t even have a desk in their classroom!

Start work at 9am and walk out at 3pm? No, we are morning people and usually arrive at school before the sparrow has even farted! We are legally allowed to leave 15 minutes after the final siren – yet to meet a teacher that has conquered this!

Sit in the staffroom and drink coffee? No, if we are not on yard duty we are rushing to the loo as we don’t have the privilege of other professions to perform this bodily function on a needs basis– this is ruled by bells.

I know that lots of people hold the view that teachers do very little, and sadly in some instances this is true, but overall we are a hard working bunch of professional people and as the curriculum increases and expectations and demands on teaching staff are also increased, we have never worked harder. I started teaching nearly two decades ago and I have seen a massive change in what is expected of teaching staff and schools – I have had one situation where a parent demanded that I teach her daughter to wash her hair! Not happening.Teaching is supposed to be a journey for the children, the teacher and the parents. The teacher can take a student so far on their learning journey, but it is up to the family and the values of the family to continue that journey after 3pm. So, as well as trying to teach the required curriculum the teacher is also performing the following: